The information on this blog about the corruption in America's courts will disgust and frighten you and propel you into a world of racketeering, greed, larceny, malicious prosecution, and outrageous disdain for due process, the Rule of Law, the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights and Professional Responsibility Standards, Rules and Statutes. This is the Unified Court System of New York State. You will be a victim unless you speak up and protest. by Betsy Combier

Senate Committee Approves Roman for Southern District

Cover Story: Hispanic Power Couples

Combining two successful legal careers with a successful marriage is no easy feat. The following Hispanic power couples, Carol and Nelson Roman, Georgina and Frank Angones, and Holly and Marlon Paz, prove that it is indeed possible—and more often than not, prosperous for the entire community.
Long before Sonia Sotomayor became the first Latina to serve on the nation’s high court, she was well-known and well-respected by a network of influential Hispanic attorneys. Back in the late ’90s, one such group, the Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA), decided to launch a grassroots campaign to get a Latino justice on the Supreme Court, and Sotomayor was on the organization’s short list.
To rally support for their cause, PRBA officers headed to the nation’s capital, where they literally knocked on lawmakers’ doors. Among them was then-president Nelson S. Roman, now an associate justice on the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division.
For Judge Roman, who is of Puerto Rican descent, advocating for other talented Latino attorneys was a no-brainer. The highest court in the land needed a diversified bench, he believed, and he was determined to help all the qualified candidates he knew get on the radar of empathetic legislators.
“We talked to a lot of congressmen and -women,” Judge Roman recalled. “Many were receptive…We told them, ‘These are candidates that you should look at.’ We were promoting the idea of diversity and excellence. We hear the term ‘merit selection.’ And we had candidates who had the scholarship, the academic credentials, and the merit for serious consideration.”
A little more than a decade after Judge Roman’s prescient trip to Washington, his vision—and the vision of the PRBA—came to fruition. Sotomayor made history last summer when she was appointed to the Supreme Court. And, fittingly enough, sitting among the crowd at her confirmation hearings was Carol Robles-Roman, Judge Roman’s wife of 19 years.
Carol, New York City’s deputy mayor for legal affairs and counsel to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was, like her husband, a longtime supporter of Sotomayor. By chance or by fate, she found herself working alongside Bloomberg as he prepared his congressional testimony on Sotomayor’s behalf.
It was as if everything had come full circle. Judge Roman had lobbied so hard for the day when a Latino would don the robes of a justice, and his wife got to witness it in action.
“I felt like this is the message Judge Roman and I had been sending our whole lives,” noted Carol. “We have excellent Hispanic judges and attorneys, and it feels like it’s been our job to shine a light on that.”
It’s a job the couple has been doing since the start of their careers. Judge Roman, a former New York City police officer, has remained committed to a lifetime of public service since retiring from the force in 1982. He put himself through law school and then joined the King’s County District Attorney’s office, where he served as an assistant D.A. for five years. He started his judicial career in 1997, when he was appointed to the New York City Housing Court. He was later elected to the civil court and then to the State Supreme Court bench. Last year, New York Gov. David Paterson appointed him as an associate justice. Looking back, his career pursuits ideally prepared him for his current role as an appellate jurist.
Carol’s professional career includes executive positions in law, business, and management. She served as a court administrator and an assistant attorney general for the New York State Department of Law Division of Civil Rights. She later became senior vice president of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, where she promoted the relocation of Fortune 500 Companies to the island. New York’s deputy mayor since 2002, she advises the mayor on legal policy and spearheads numerous public-private initiatives, such as Family Justice Centers, or as Carol calls them “state-of-the-art one-stop centers for domestic violence victims.” She also oversees New York’s “Let’s End Human Trafficking” campaign, which is designed to raise awareness about human trafficking in New York and elsewhere.
At a time when Hispanics are becoming the fastest growing minority group in the nation, the Romans represent a new kind of power couple. They’ve developed considerable influence as a result of their individual and collective successes in the legal field. Yet despite their achievements, or perhaps because of them, they’ve made it a point to create opportunities for others.
More than 1,000 miles away in Miami, the same is true for Francisco and Georgina Angones. Back in the ’60s, Frank and Georgina (better known as Georgie) came to this country from Cuba following the 1959 revolution. Georgie fled with her family, while Frank arrived on U.S. shores as a part of Operación Pedro Pan, or Operation Peter Pan, a program that supervised unaccompanied child sent to The States to seek a better life. As is the case with many of their peers, Frank and Georgie were the first in their families to go to college. Their parents and grandparents stressed the importance of higher education, and they both took heed. Frank, now a partner at Angones, McClure & Garcia and past president of the Florida Bar, and Georgie, assistant dean for alumni relations and development at the University of Miami School of Law, studied hard and worked even harder, intelligently navigating their careers and propelling themselves into America’s upper-middle class.
Like the Romans, the Angoneses are dedicated to nurturing the next generation of Hispanic attorneys. They consider the time they spend helping young law school students secure financial aid or land interviews at reputable firms in South Florida as more than just a way of giving back. In many ways, their work is a natural extension of who they are and the principles that make up the very core of their relationship.
“I entered the academic world to put a husband through law school,” notes Georgie. “Frank got accepted to a university in Chicago, but he had to turn down a full scholarship because we both couldn’t manage to go to school and work at the same time.” To ensure that they each had a chance to pursue their legal dreams, these high school sweethearts enrolled at the University of Miami, where Georgie landed a job. With her tuition remission, and her decision to take the maximum number of credits possible each semester, Georgie freed up time for Frank to hit the books—all the while ensuring that they both graduated with minimal debt.
“My wife is a problem-solver,” Frank says. “What first caught my attention to her was that she was a natural leader. She was the person who organized everything. She has always had the ability to take the bull by the horns and get things done. I’m not like that. I worked at becoming a leader and coming out of my shell. I was incredibly shy growing up. But Georgie was not, and I admire that.”
The couple, who count former teachers, employers, and mentors among those who’ve contributed to their professional successes, fondly remember the sacrifices of those who came before them, and that keeps them motivated to reach out to those following in their footsteps.
“If I can touch just one or two people a year, then I’ve done something absolutely fabulous,” says Georgie, who is a member of the Judicial Nominating Committee for the Southern District of Florida. “It’s our responsibility to point out resources and to encourage young Hispanic students to remember that education is the way up for every minority group. The next generation wants to be part of the melting pot, but it’s also important to retain your culture, no matter if it’s Cuban, Portuguese, or Puerto Rican. It’s important to speak the native tongue of your parents because that will open doors for you. Kids who are bilingual are extremely marketable. In Florida, young attorneys who are interested in doing public interest work can get a job at the public defender’s office, or they can work for a nonprofit. There’s also a lot of immigration work. It’s not as lucrative as going to a big firm, but it can be rewarding work for recent grads.”
Recruiting notable talent has also been a driving factor for Marlon and Holly Paz. And for this Washington, D.C.- based couple that has included identifying opportunities for the hardest-working attorneys they know—each other.
After meeting at University of Pennsylvania Law School, the couple married, started a family, and set out on what, at times, has seemed like parallel career paths. Marlon, who is originally from Honduras, and Holly, who grew up in Illinois and Pennsylvania, both landed positions as tax lawyers soon after graduating. Marlon got his start at a firm and then made the leap over to the corporation litigation world, but working at the Securities and Exchange Commission had always been his dream job. Holly eventually made her way to the IRS, where she now works as a managing attorney. With her government position, she often came across federal job postings, but one in particular, with the SEC, caught her eye.
It was an “obscure posting,” Marlon recalls, but Holly nevertheless encouraged him to apply. Marlon got the job and eventually rose through the ranks to become senior counsel to the director, where he worked for six years before becoming the principal integrity officer for the Inter-American Development Bank in July.
“All lawyers are naturally competitive people,” Holly notes. “But the one thing I appreciate about our marriage is that we’re not competitive with each other. We celebrate each other’s accomplishments.”
“And it’s usually Holly helping me,” Marlon interjects. “Law is a tough business, whether you’re in private practice or work for the government. It helps to have an ally and someone to share ideas with.”
The Pazes have since done a lot of recruiting for the federal agencies where they’ve been employed. With firsthand knowledge of the confusing and often difficult application processes, they’ve participated in discussions sponsored by the Hispanic bar associations, the African American counsels, and universities in D.C. to talk to young attorneys interested in tax law and government work about how to get their foot in the door.
“I sent in my materials at least 10 times to several agencies and never heard anything,” adds Marlon, the past president of the Hispanic Bar Association of D.C. and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. “I felt like it went into a black hole. But Holly kept the hope alive. She helped me get an interview, and that led to a job where I spent years doing something I loved. But there are a lot of people like me out there who are unaware of the steps you need to take. It’s not rocket science; there’s just no guidance. We’re trying to help explain the process.”
Although Latinos remain largely underrepresented in the legal field, their future in the profession seems bright if the growing number of Hispanic power couples is any indication. From city to city, Latino attorneys understand the benefits of building a strong network for themselves and for a country that is becoming increasingly diverse.
“My hope is that there are more and more Latinos interested in the field—a flood of people waiting in the wings,” Marlon says. “But it should never be couched as a feel-good thing. It’s a business case. We ought to promote inclusion because it makes an organization, a law firm, or a government agency stronger.” DBChana Garcia is a freelance writer, editor, and blogger based in New York City.From theSeptember/October 2010 issueof Diversity & The Bar®

Associate Justice Nelson S. Roman

JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE

NEW YORK STATE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION , FIRST DEPT.Associate Justice, October 2009 - Present

NEW YORK STATE SUPREME COURT, Civil Term -Bronx CountyJustice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, January 1, 2003 - October 2009

NEW YORK CITY CIVIL COURT, Bronx CountyJudge of the New York City Civil Court, January 1, 2001 - December 31, 2002

NEW YORK CITY CIVIL COURT, Bronx Housing CourtJudge of the Housing Part, June 1998 - December 2000

EDUCATION

BROOKLYN LAW SCHOOL, Brooklyn, New YorkJ.D. May 1989

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY, Bronx, NYB.A. 1984 Graduated cum laude

OTHER LEGAL EXPERIENCE

NEW YORK STATE UNIFIED COURT SYSTEM, New York County Civil CourtLaw Clerk to Honorable Jose A. Padilla, Jr., January 1995 - June 1998

OFFICE OF THE KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, Brooklyn, NYFelony Trial Assistant District Attorney, April 1994 - January 1995

OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL NARCOTICS PROSECUTOR, New York, NYSpecial Narcotics Assistant District Attorney, January 1992 - March 1994

OFFICE OF THE KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, Brooklyn, NYAssistant District Attorney, August 1989 - December 1991

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New York's Big Dirty Filthy Secret is Judge Laura Drager. Laura Drager is the Corrupt CEO of New York City's Divorce Company. She has turned Divorce Corruption into a Cottage Industry.

Judge Laura Drager has turned divorce into a lucrative "bottom-line" business that has enriched her beyond her wildest dreams.

Her strategy is simple; she usually discredits the female litigant by treating and labeling them as an acrimonious spoiled “crackpot” woman, and under that guise begins the seizure of their assets. If children are involved she has no qualms about using them as a pawn. Ladies;"Watch out for your real estate" because Judge Drager is eyeing it like a "Juicy piece of beef", ready for her to attach and abscond with!.

This Judge deliberately overlooks Gun Violence to Children, Porn Sent to Children, Domestic Violence in lieu of enriching the New York City Power Broker. Go to Change.Org : Vote Judge Laura Drager Out!

Sunny Shue, died Saturday June 26, 2010. Video that Sunny did on April 9 2010, asking for protection from Judge Joseph Golia. Wednesday...

September 2, 2009 Hearing With Senator John Sampson on Judicial Accountability in New York State

We went to a Hearing with Senator John Sampson on September 24, 2009 on the New York Judicial Syatem. A few people were able to speak, and many others signed up to speak at a later date...that Sampson never scheduled.

First published in print: Monday, January 11, 2010
Here we thought that the first order of business this year for state Senate Democratic leader John Sampson would be to help regain that institution's credibility by passing radical ethics reforms.

The need for them would seem to be brutally obvious, in the wake of the conviction of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno on federal corruption charges and Governor Paterson's calls for requiring state officials members to disclose their outside income. First, though, Mr. Sampson has joined a large Manhattan law firm where one of the founding partners is on the board of the state Trial Lawyers Association.
That's right. Mr. Sampson now works not only for the people of New York, but also for the firm of Belluck & Fox, according to a New York Post report.

His salary in the former position is a matter of public record, of course -- $88,500. His salary in his new job, however, is something Mr. Sampson isn't about to disclose.

Just as New Yorkers need to learn more about legislators' outside interests, Mr. Sampson offers them less.

Imagine, then, what people might think if this is one more year when the Legislature fails to pass ethics laws. Or if it does, only a watered down version of what's need to clean up an institution where criminal indictments and convictions have become too commonplace?

What were Mr. Sampson's priorities, they might wonder -- transparency in government, or shielding from both his own finances and Belluch & Fox's clients?

The same questions might be asked as well of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who holds a position of counsel to another Manhattan law firm, Weitz & Luxenberg. Little is known by the public about that arrangement, too, thanks to the alarmingly inadequate financial disclosure requirements for legislators that Mr. Silver seems to think are entirely adequate. We know he works for that particular firm, one of the largest tort law firms in New York, but we don't know what the nature of his work is, or on whose behalf he does it.

That will become all the more relevant in the event someone else in the Legislature tries to push for rewriting the state's medical malpractice laws or otherwise changing tort laws this session. Two of the most powerful people in state government work for law firms closely associated with the leading opponent of such legislation, namely the Trial Lawyers Association.

In Mr. Silver's case, he rather famously said of his legal work a half-dozen years ago, "I don't think it's a conflict. How many times do you want to hear this?"

In Mr. Sampson's case, the word comes from his office that his outside work won't interfere with his official duties.

Not exactly endorsements of ethics reform, are they?

THE ISSUE:

The state Senate Democratic leader has another job, too, not that he wants to talk about it.

THE STAKES:

When ethics reform is a major issue, how serious is he about stronger financial disclosure requirements?

Electronic Libraries and FOIA Links

Accountability is the Key

Westchester Guardian TV

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Victims-of-Law

Who is a Victim-of-Law?Victims-of-Law are persons who have been subjected to tyrannical or arbitrary rulings or edicts in violation of constitutional and civil rights under the democratic maxim reminiscent of our Republic -- the "Rule of Law"

The victims of unethical and corrupt lawyers, judges and employees of the state and federal judiciary demand accountability from those who abuse the power of office while they remain absolutely immune. The media as well as the legislative and executive branches of government traditionally ignore these abuses. The judicial branch itself hurls insults at the victim claiming they are nothing more than a 'disgruntled litigant' while ignoring substantive allegations.

It is essential to empower the victims of legal abuses. Our strength is in our numbers thus the more people that demand their constitutional and civil rights the quicker they will be attained.

What most people do not comprehend is that judges are immune from civil lawsuits. If a judge unlawfully imprisoned someone or maliciously denied due process in a case that cost a litigant millions of dollars, it doesn't matter. There is no redress for the aggrieved person.

The emotional and physical health problems inherent in these abuses are now coming to light but the judicial branches throughout our country continue to avoid or deliberately ignore what they have helped to create.

This website hopes to publish documented proof of many of the deliberate violations of the 'rule of law, the doctrine upon which our Constitutional Republic is based.

This website hopes to publish documented proof of many of the deliberate violations of the 'rule of law, the doctrine upon which our Constitutional Republic is based.

What is the "Rule of Law"? Equality and the Law

The right to equality before the law, or equal protection of the law as it is often phrased, is fundamental to any just and democratic society. Whether rich or poor, ethnic majority or religious minority, political ally of the state or opponent--all are entitled to equal protection before the law.

The democratic state cannot guarantee that life will treat everyone equally, and it has no responsibility to do so. However, writes constitutional law expert John P. Frank, "Under no circumstances should the state impose additional inequalities; it should be required to deal evenly and equally with all of its people."

No one is above the law, which is, after all, the creation of the people, not something imposed upon them. The citizens of a democracy submit to the law because they recognize that, however indirectly, they are submitting to themselves as makers of the law. When laws are established by the people who then have to obey them, both law and democracy are served.

The Supreme CourtThe Framers considered the rule of law essential to the safekeeping of social order and civil liberties. The rule of law holds that if our relationships with each other and with the state are governed by a set of rules, rather than by a group of individuals, we are less likely to fall victim to authoritarian rule. The rule of law calls for both individuals and the government to submit to the law's supremacy. By precluding both the individual and the state from transcending the supreme law of the land, the Framers constructed another protective layer over individual rights and liberties. --Reprinted from U.S. Dept. of State

Judicial Immunity is AbsoluteIn an unprecedented degree of 'abuse of power' judges decreed themselves absolutely immune from civil suit when they are "acting maliciously and corruptly." In 1996 the 104th Congress passed the Federal Courts Improvement Act amending the Civil Rights statute to give further immunities to malicious and corrupt judges.

Sec. 309. Prohibition against awards of costs, including attorney's fees, and injunctive relief against a judicial officer.28 USC 2412 note.>> for Costs.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no judicial officer shall be held liable for any costs, including attorney's fees, in any action brought against such officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, unless such action was clearly in excess of such officer's jurisdiction.(b) Proceedings in Vindication of Civil Rights.--Section 722(b) of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end thereof "except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity such officer shall not be held liable for any costs, including attorney's fees, unless such action was clearly in excess of such officer's jurisdiction".

(c) Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights.--Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983) is amended by inserting before the period at the end of the first sentence: ``, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable''.

Advocate for truth and An End To Judicial Immunity

About Betsy Combier

Reporter, paralegal, advocate,I will investigate, search on the internet and in all data bases for information that will help a person in need of resolution to a problem.I believe in substantive and procedural due process for all individuals, groups and organizations and trademarked the term "e-accountability" to describe the purpose of my work. I am the parent of four daughters.

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Who is John Libecci?

On Sunday, August 16, 2009, a friend of a friend called me at approximately 2:10PM, a Mr. John Libecci. Mr. Libecci is, I understand, a private investigator who knows a friend of mine socially. I asked whether he could help me find out some information involving my federal court case filed in United States District court on June 8, 2009 involving the Surrogate Court and my mother's Will. After I told him about the property being taken by the court, he told me that the court never takes property without a reason; after I told him that the Will was never probated since I filed the Will (of my mom) on March 17, 1998), Mr. Libecci told me that "obviously the Will was not done right", and said that he worked for the Courts and the Judges. He would not tell me what he did for the Court and the judges, then hung up. If anyone has information about Mr. John Libecci please email me at betsy@parentadvocates.org. You may send me any information anonymously.